Too Slow
by Joyfulldreams
Summary: Wally held back his tears and his conflicting emotions. Robin was trapped under the rubble and he wasn't strong enough to help him out from under there. Wally had to go and get someone, fast, and fast was the only thing he was good for.
1. Too Slow

"Wally, go."

"What?"

"Just _go_."

"No way, Rob, I'm not leaving you here! You could-"

"The longer you stay, the more likely both of us will die. As it is, you can go and get help."

"But-"

"Goddammit Wally, I'm not getting out of this anytime soon, but you can! I don't want you dyeing..."

Robin breathed deeply, trying to stay conscious while buried under huge slabs of rubble, wondering if they had a steady supply of air or not and how long would he really last...? How many of his bones were broken, how badly was he trapped underneath this debris?

But Wally wasn't quite as badly trapped as he was, he could easily wiggle out or maybe even attempt to phase his molecules like he'd been practicing more recently. Sure, he might get a bloody nose, but he'd be _free_ and able to get the hell out of there before the other bomb went off.

"Rob...please, don't...don't make me do this..."

"Can you not get out?"

"No...I mean, yeah, I can."

"Then go. For me. I don't want you dyeing with me again."

"Don't talk like that-!"

"_GO_!"

Wally held back his tears and his conflicting emotions. Robin was trapped here and he wasn't strong enough to help him out from under there, only Miss Martian or Aqualad or Superboy could help him, or someone equally strong or capable. Wally had to go and get that someone, _fast_, and fast was the only thing he was good for.

"Okay. I'm leaving."

And with that, he managed to actually phase through the solid rock and cement with only a minor nose-bleed. He would have been proud of himself had the situation not been so dire. Rubbing the blood away from his lips, Wally stood over his best friend, who was lying prone underneath who knows how many pounds of rubble. He wished desperately and selfishly that their roles could be reversed so he wouldn't have to deal with this pressure.

"Good," Robin said, once he could see Kid Flash standing and free. "Now, go, save yourself-"

"I'm leaving, and I'm coming back for you."

Robin's face took on a pained expression, one that looked like he was trying to figure out how to say something difficult. He sighed, choking out "...Wally..."

"And don't you _dare_ give up."

Robin was silent for a moment, before he sighed again and gave a weak smile. "Okay. I'll be waiting."

And with that, Wally lowered his goggles over his eyes and was gone in a flash.

Robin allowed his body to relax after he was sure Kid Flash was gone. He could put up a front for Wally all he wanted, but he was sure he was going to die. He had accepted that, and was happy that at least Wally would live.

So why was he crying?

Meanwhile, Wally ran faster than he had ever run before, zipping by unconscious goons and trees and abandoned buildings before he finally found that his comm. link worked. He immediately called the Watchtower and then his team.

A few minutes later, Superman was there, along with the team in the bioship.

"Where's Robin?" Superman asked, and Wally only took a second to explain before dashing off.

Wally led them there, as fast as he could. Superman followed behind him, flying as fast as he ran, and the bio-ship was keeping up as well. He felt his heart racing, couldn't stop thinking _please let me make it, oh god please let me be fast enough_.

They were almost there, Wally could see the ruined and broken-down building where Robin was _waiting for him_…

_BOOM!_

A huge fireball erupted from the building, sending a shockwave outward that knocked Wally off of his feet and sent the bio-sheep reeling. After the initial explosion the heat from the fire could still be felt. The entire building was aflame and what remained standing of it soon collapsed. It took Wally a few seconds to regain his bearings before it finally registered in his mind what had just happened.

Wally screamed, unable to control himself, and Superman had to keep him from running into the burning mass of rubble, because Robin was gone and he had been too late, too _slow._

* * *

><p>Alright, this was an insta-fic I wrote on the YJ Anon Meme and I decided to post it here. We had to write something in the 4,300 character comment limit, so I was forced to write this sad ending as opposed to the happy ending I really wanted. I like them both, but I'm posting the real, alternate ending as a second chapter.<p> 


	2. Alternate ending

"Where's Robin?" Superman asked, and Wally only took a second to explain before dashing off.

Wally led them there, as fast as he could. Superman followed behind him, flying as fast as he ran, and the bio-ship was keeping up as well. He felt his heart racing, couldn't stop thinking _please let me make it, oh god please let me be fast enough_.

Superman saw the building before Wally did and sped ahead of him, flying straight into the building and searching for the fallen Boy Wonder or the second bomb Wally had told him about. Wally himself sped in a second later, and paused for only a second before going straight to where Robin was.

"Over here, Superman!" Wally yelled, and the big blue boy scout was there in under a second.

"He's under here," Wally said, pointing to the giant slab of ceiling that had fallen on top of Robin. Superman nodded and lifted it up with hardly any effort, and Wally wasted no time in snatching the unconscious Robin from underneath before Superman set it back down.

"Get him out of here, " Superman told Wally.

He didn't need to be told twice. He sped out of there with Robin in his arms, broken and bruised and _hurt_, and came right up to the bio-ship where his team was waiting. Superman sped out of the building as well, with only milliseconds to spare –

_BOOM!_

A huge fireball erupted from the building, sending a shockwave outward that knocked Wally off of his feet, knocking Robin out of his arms, and sent the bio-sheep reeling. After the initial explosion the heat from the fire could still be felt. The entire building was aflame and what remained standing of it soon collapsed.

It took a few seconds for Wally to get back his bearings, but he immediately brought himself to Robin's side on the ground, picking him up and bringing him into the bio-ship.

M'gann gasped at the sight of him. "Are you two okay? Robin, is he…?"

"He's fine," Superman said, entering the bio-ship as well. Superboy eyed him wearily, but didn't say anything. "You lie him down somewhere, and follow me. We need to get both of you medical attention."

Wally nodded. M'gann closed her eyes and one of the chairs lengthened to stretcher-size. Wally placed the Boy Wonder on top of it, and felt his legs give out. Luckily, he didn't fall, as a chair grew itself right under him, so he just flopped into the chair.

It felt like all his strength left him now that the adrenaline rush was over. He looked over Robin, who was still out cold, and felt relief was over him. _"Go and save yourself"_ Robin had told him. He'd been planning on sacrificing himself, but thank God that wasn't necessary. Wally looked up and noticed that the bio-ship was moving now, but he felt too tired to really notice.

He folded his arms on the stretcher-chair-thing next to Robin and laid his head down on top of them, planning to just rest his eyes for a bit…

Before Wally could drift off to sleep, though, Robin stirred. Wally's head snapped up, and saw Robin open his eyes blearily.

"…Wally?" Robin said weakly. "I'm…alive?'

"Of course you are, stupid," Wally said, and it was just now sinking in how close a call that was. By all accounts, Robin_ could_ be dead now. "I said I'd come back for you, and I did."

"Heh," Robin replied, and it looked like he was trying not to go back to sleep. "I admit it, I almost gave up hope there…" Wally stiffened, giving him an angry look. He'd _told _him…! "But I knew you'd come for me. You're not _that_ slow."

Their teammates were obviously listening in, but it seemed they were letting the two friends have their moment.

Wally was about to reply to Robin, but he'd already fallen asleep. But that was fine, because he was damn tired too.

* * *

><p>There. Fluffy-ish ending for you! This was the ending I wanted, really. As much as I can love angsty and tragedy-fics, I prefer stuff like this way more. Let's just say I'm probably too attached to characters. XD<p>

Man, this whole thing was pretty poorly written, but I'll see what you guys think.


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